Creditera Changes Its Name to Nav, Launches Enhanced Small Business Financing Marketplace and Credit Tools

SAN MATEO, Calif., Oct. 21, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Creditera today announced that it has launched an enhanced marketplace for small business financing with recommendations based on their credit data and needs, and a first-of-its-kind, personal and business credit dashboard that guides business owners with personalized action plans. The launch of these features aligns with the company's rebrand to Nav, inspired by their expanded mission to steer small business owners through the increasingly complex business financing landscape.

To help accelerate the company's long-term vision of bringing transparency and efficiency to B2B commerce and lending, Nav also has acquired Fundastic, an online platform with a deep stable of business financing educational content and tools. Fundastic is a trusted source in the small business community, offering objective reviews of the many financial options available to small businesses, such as loans, credit cards, crowdfunding, bank accounts and more. Nav has migrated Fundastic's content to its site, bringing even deeper educational value and insights into its marketplace recommendations and product reviews. Fundastic's co-founder and CEO, Yun-Fang Juan, will now serve on Nav's team of advisors.

"We're excited to bring Fundastic into the fold because their financing tools and brazenly truthful approach to offering financing advice align perfectly with our vision to serve small businesses in an area where they desperately need help," said Levi King, co-founder and CEO of Nav.

Since Nav's original inception in 2012, an influx of new online lenders have entered the small business marketplace. Unfortunately, some of these lenders are taking advantage of businesses that don't see any other option but extremely high rate loans. In addition, the range of options available, with different interest rates and repayment terms, has added to the complexity small businesses face in navigating their finances. Nav is not a lender. Instead, Nav's mission is to empower business owners with the data that others are going to judge them by, dramatically simplifying the access to the right capital for their needs.

"We founded Nav in 2012 because we saw a disconnect in the credit and financing market that was hurting business owners," said King. "The change to Nav reflects our expanded mission­ to help guide business owners through the increasingly complex world of business financing. While analogies exist on the consumer side, for small businesses we will go beyond business credit and include tools around other data and information that is used by lenders and business partners, such as, business checking account and cash flow data. And after helping thousands of customers with these important parts of running and growing a business, we believe in that mission more strongly now than ever."

"We talk to small business owners every day who are experiencing difficulty managing their finances and accessing credit and loans," said Miriam Hope Karell, manager of Marin SBDC at the Renaissance Entrepreneurship Center in Marin County, Calif. "There's a need in the market for the tools and guidance that Nav provides. Small businesses are the backbone of our economy. The more resources and support given to them, the better lives we all live."

With Nav, small business owners will now have access to:

• A new user interface and dashboard that quickly shows where their personal and business credit stand, and an insights feature that clearly explains the most important things to work on and improve;
• An enhanced marketplace that lets business owners easily search and apply for financing options, filtered by credit scores and their needs, so they can be sure they're applying for the best product for their situation, with the lowest rates and without bias;
• An updated mobile app with all of Nav's features wherever and whenever they're needed; and
• The first and only site to make the FICO SBSS business credit score available to the public. This score is used by the U.S. Small Business Administration and thousands of lenders to help them make approval decisions for loans. By knowing their score and taking steps to improve it, business owners can put themselves in a position to qualify for some of the lowest-cost loans available.

Small businesses will still be able to sign up for free accounts – with forever-free, no strings attached access to personal and business credit reports together.

"Credit health is the core of good financial health, and a business credit score is one of many things small business owners need to qualify for good financing terms," said King. "Now, as Nav, we're taking this much further. We're here to guide business owners – in a very simple and user friendly way – so they know they're getting the best financing product for their unique needs, know exactly how much it's going to cost, and help them take steps to improve their credit profile so they can qualify for the best funding terms."

"As an entrepreneur in today's world of instantaneous information flow, juggling multiple business engagements, roles and maintaining healthy cash flow is a constant battle. Allocating time and focused energy for key business management functions can become an immensely difficult discipline for today's entrepreneur to achieve. In my case, Nav allowed me to remove all excuses for not being 'able' to commit time towards building business credit," said Benjamin Snyder, Nav customer and founder of Snyder Technologies — a technology consultancy located in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. "Nav provided me a turnkey path to tackle my business and personal credit scores. The platform's tools have allowed me to effectively manage my credit scores with tremendous ease — igniting action, by identifying the most important items affecting my financial health. Nav has saved me valuable time and provided me the tools and resources to tackle the financing landscape, so I can focus on driving my business growth. I have saved hundreds, if not thousands of dollars in time and wasted energy because of the advantage Nav has given me."

Get to know Nav. Learn more about the exciting changes the company is making to serve small businesses, and take the new features for a spin.

About Nav 
Nav is the free way for business owners to manage their entire credit and financial life. The site and mobile app give instant access to personal and business credit reports, contextual advice, monitoring and marketplace all in one spot. Nav provides simple tools to build business credit and access to lending options based on their credit scores and needs. This all helps business owners get more funding, lower their costs, and save time so they can run and grow their business the way they want. Nav has offices in Silicon Valley and Salt Lake City, and its investors include Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and Kickstart Seed Fund. For more information visit nav.com.

SOURCE Nav; Creditera

Related Links

https://www.nav.com